Sinus pressure without other symptoms? Scared

[peculiargroove]

Hi everyone.

I'm a 25 yr old female with OCD (and recently more general anxiety symptoms).

About two weeks ago, I started experiencing an ache in my top right back tooth. I also began experiencing right sided headaches. I used to get similar headaches but it's been a few years since that was an issue and I never experience "toothache" with it. The head pain was mostly around my right eye, temple, eyebrow and cheekbone. I went to the dentist who didn't x-ray the tooth but examined it & tapped it and said there were no new cavities and he was happy the tooth was okay. He had a prod about to see if it was TMD but I didn't feel any tenderness or soreness. He said he thought it may be sinus related and so I went to see my doctor.

The doctor checked to see if I had any tenderness around the sinuses, and I felt no pain or discomfort. He said he didn't think it was a sinus infection as there were no other symptoms and was probably just a bug that had caused some inflammation.

Over these two weeks, it has gotten worse. I began experiencing the same dull ache on the left side and then I began to feel an incredible amount of pressure. The pressure is behind my eyes (to the point that it almost feels like they are bulging out but they aren't), my cheeks, eyebrows, between the eyes, ears and throat and seems to be getting more intense.

I went back to the doctor today and she said my ear drums were dull and again, it's likely a bug that's gone but left a bit of inflammation & prescribed a nasal spray.

But honestly, I am really starting to panic now. Mainly because I have no other typical sinus symptoms. My nose is clear, no sneezing or coughing, no nausea, no fever or chills, no runny nose, no soreness etc

The pressure tends to be better when i'm lying down and I usually don't really feel it until I sit up. It's worse when I bend forward or move my head or strain.

I know I should trust what the doctors are saying to me but i've had some bad experiences with that in the past. I just can't seem to put my mind at rest about it which is of course making me tense and making it worse!

Right now it feels like my head is going to explode - far more pressure than you get with a cold. What on earth is going on?:weep:

[popejoan]

The exact thing happened to me few months ago. I had sinusitis symptoms but no flu, no runny nose. My eyes got swollen and I had dull ache behind my eyes, shooting pains in my cheeks.
I did vicks steam and helped a little.
I still don't know why it happened but I have a theory, the day before it started I had a whiplash in my neck, my neck was extremely tense and maybe thinking it caused it.
Is your neck tense? If it is maybe muscle relaxers can help you.

[MrH]

I've had on-and-off sinus pressure like this for about ten years, and it started when I was about your age. It can be at any part of my face, round my eye sockets, round the back of my head, and is sometimes throbbing, and sometimes feels worse when I inhale, occasional blurry/double vision too. Sometimes I go montha without it, sometimes I go a short while having it frequently. I've mentioned it to a doctor once and they didn't seem particularly concerned, it's just one of those things. If it was something nasty it would have taken me by now! It seems it's just the way I'm built, sadly, and it comes and goes to varying degrees. I've read apparently migraines can manifest in this way, and it's something I'll investigate if it flares up badly again. I'm also not ruling out the fact it may go hand in hand with a few other anxiety symptoms I seem to be having, or it may just be part and parcel of asthma/allergies I have.

There have been times when it has been really, really painful. The worst I ever had it was when I was on a plane, and when descending I literally thought something in my head was going to explode - by far the worst pain I've ever experienced (and I've had bacterial meningitis). The change in air pressure obviously drove it nuts - but as soon as I was on the ground it stopped as suddenly as it had started. Even at other times it can still be really painful. I'm still certain it's nothing to worry about, it doesn't diminish how awful it is at times.

Painkillers, plenty of water and occasionally inhaling steam is how I deal with it. I can't say what you've got is the same as this, but if the doctors aren't worried I wouldn't be, just keep an eye on it.